GoPro HERO Wide Camera

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I’ve been messing with a GoPro HERO Wide camera the last month or so. All up it’s great fun, especially for guys like me who mainly ride alone but would like something fun to show others.

Good Stuff:

  • The fisheye lens combined with helmet and bar mounts offer unique points of view that do a good job of capturing the experience and fun of off road unicycling
  • The camera is rugged, survives UPD’s
  • Easy and fast to use during a ride vs tripod based video

The Not so Good Stuff:

  • The video resolution is relatively low
  • The 2 x AAA batteries don’t last long. Works best with premium lithium/rechargeables. Take spares!
  • The menu/settings take some deciphering, luckily there aren’t many.
  • Can’t really see where you’re shooting as the optical viewfinder is obstructed by the case and quite small. Upside is with a fisheye accurate framing isn’t critical.

I’ve posted a video made with the camera at

And for anyone interested in more info, pics etc
http://unplannedismounts.com/2009/05/03/gopro-helmet-hero-wide-camera/
http://unplannedismounts.com/2009/05/03/topeak-barxtender/

GoPro_HERO_wide_helmet_mount.jpg

2

I’ve been looking at this camera for muni. Where did you mount it? I’d prefer to have it on the frame, but I’m guessing that leg motion would get in the way. Helmet mounts require that the helmet stay at the same angle in order to preserve the view. Did you try the chest harness? Have you used any other helmet cams?

3

The helmet view is handy and funky but limited, so I mounted the camera off the uni frame using an optional Seatpost mount and Topeak BarXtender which lets you get all types of funky angles not just from the front.

There’s more info on the mount setup I use and a video showing quite a few different angles taken with the frame mount at
http://unplannedismounts.com/2009/05/03/topeak-barxtender/